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The Shadow War
This story is narrated by Ironpaw, Moonpaw, Lavapaw, and occasionally Eaglepaw and other characters. The chapters say which one is narrating.-Ironflame I will protect you, forever 22:06, January 22, 2012 (UTC) I was about to kill the attacker when I realized who the other one had. Her. It was slow at first. My paws loping across the clearing, the blow coming fast. Until my one hope came. Mine. I grew in size'', muscles rippling''. My muscles didn't just grow. My claws and my teeth were the size of rocks. I knew what this meant. "Your one true power will be to die for your love." she said. This day is now. I will not fail. Alliances ThunderClan Leader: Lionstar- ginger tom with amber eyes Deputy: Birchfall- light brown tabby tom Medicine Cat: Jayfeather- gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes Apprentice, Lilypaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat (daughter of Sorreltail and Brackenfur) Warriors Foxleap- reddish tabby tom Icecloud- white she-cat Apprentice, Seedpaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat (daughter of Sorreltail and Brackenfur) Hollyleaf- black she-cat with dark green eyes Toadstep- black-and-white tom Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat Apprentice, Eaglepaw- light brown tom with faint darker brown stripes (son of Dovewing and Bumblestripe) Blossomfall- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat Bumblestripe- pale gray tom with black stripes Dovewing- pale gray she-cat with blue eyes Ivypool- silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes Cherryfeather- ginger she-cat Apprentice, Moonpaw- white she-cat with gray splotches (daughter of Cinderheart and Lionstar) Molefur- brown-and-cream tom Apprentice, Ashpaw- pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat with amber eyes (Son of Ferncloud and Dustpelt) Queens Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat; mother to Lionstar's kits: Lynxkit, ginger tom with black ears, and Ghostkit, a gray-and-white tabby tom Elders Brackenfur- golden brown tabby tom Mousewhisker- gray-and-white tom Poppyfrost- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat WindClan Leader: Sunstar- tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead Deputy: Furzepelt- gray-and-white she-cat Apprentice, Ironpaw- fuzzy dark gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes (daughter of Heathertail and Breezepelt) Medicine Cat: Kestrelflight- mottled brown-gray tom Apprentice, Brindlepaw- mottled brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes (daughter of Swallowtail and Boulderclaw) Warriors Boulderclaw- large, pale gray tom Apprentice, Shinepaw- silvery-white she-cat who has a pelt that sparkles in the sun (daughter of Swallowtail and Boulderclaw) Sedgewhisker- light brown tabby she-cat Swallowtail- dark gray she-cat Nightfur- black tom Halofrost- White she-cat with blue eyes and a ginger circle on her forehead Apprentice, Swiftpaw- black and white tom with pale amber eyes Queens Heathertail- light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes; mother to Breezepelt's kits: Summerkit, flame-colored she-cat with a light orange paw, and Rustkit, reddish-brown tom Dark River Leader: Scourgestar- black tom who is strangely familiar... Deputy: Bonefur- gray tom who is strangely familiar... Warriors Breezepelt- black tom with amber eyes Minnowtail- Dark gray she-cat Apprentice, Lavapaw- black tom with ginger flecks (son of Troutstream and Scourgestar) Pebblefoot- mottled gray tom Mallownose- light brown tabby tom Robinwing- totoiseshell-and-white tom Beetlewhisker- brown-and-white tabby tom Petalfur- gray-and-white she-cat Grasspelt- light brown tom Hollowflight- dark brown tabby tom Troutstream- pale gray tabby she-cat Mossyfoot- brown-and-white she-cat Rushtail- light brown tabby she-cat Olivenose- tortoiseshell she-cat Owlclaw- light brown tabby tom Scorchfur- dark gray tom Redwillow- mottled brown-and-ginger tom Tigerheart- dark brown tabby tom Pinenose- black she-cat Part One: The Trigger Chapter One- Ironpaw I sat upon the hill, behind a bush. My sky blue eyes darted across the moor. Come on, Ironpaw! Find a rabbit! It's newleaf! Then I saw my victim. A fat rabbit, big enough for a feast, probably too heavy to run fast, sat about a hundred yards away. The wind was on my side. The scent of the rabbit blowed right into my nostrils. My mouth watered. It had been a hard leaf-bare. Not enough food, water, or herbs. My friend Hedgepaw had died of greencough during a hard blizzard. I crouched. I unsheathed my claws. I took the biggest breath through my nose. The scent overwhelmed me; I knew what I was going to miss if I didn't make the catch. The muscles in my legs exploded. I ran at breakneck speed, my eyes locked on the fat brown blotch. Finally I was only a foxtail away from it. I pounced on it. It squealed as my teeth ripped through the flesh of its neck. A heartbeat later, there was no struggling. I heaved my prey to camp. What seemed like an hour later, I arrived at the valley which was my camp. It isn't really a valley; it's just a shallow dip in the ground, like a cat of StarClan scooped their paw into the hill. I dragged the rabbit downhill. The noise made every cat in the camp look up at me. When I went through the bushes to camp, my mentor Furzepelt eyed me. I pointed my tail to the rabbit, then her gaze went from mad to confused. "How did you-? When did-?" Furzepelt stammered. "Just now." I declared. She purred. "Look at this, everybody! My apprentice caught this. Wow!" I couldn't help but purr myself. My mentor was proud of me. She wasn't mad at me for sneaking out of camp, but proud. ''Maybe apprenticeship was going to be fun. Chapter Two- Moonpaw The breeze from WindClan territory ruffled my fur. Eaglepaw stood beside me. Well, ''more than beside me. Our bodies were pressed together, tails entwined. We were both in deep, undenying love with each other, but we were way too young to become mates. So we were somewhat like boyfriend and girlfriend. Eaglepaw turned his head to mine. His beautiful amber eyes mesmerized me. He licked the top of my head. "Let's go catch some prey." His smooth, powerful voice was like singing. "Of course." I mewed. I licked his cheek. "Anything for you." Me and Eaglepaw were racing to our favorite hunting spot. The small piece of land between ShadowClan and ThunderClan territory, where the grass turned soft and springy, where acorns lay all over, where squirrels came to eat them. I shot like a lightning bolt past the Sky Oak. I could hear Eaglepaw's clumsy steps behind me, trying to catch up, but that was not going to happen. As I sniffed in ShadowClan's pine scent, I smelled something odd; a damp, watery scent, mixed in with the pine. By the time I had saw it, it was too late. Chapter Three- Lavapaw It is very hard living in Dark River. Where I used to live, the sun shined brightly. All my clanmates were friendly and happy. We caught fish, we played water games, and life was just carefree. '' Not anymore. Scourgestar ruined it. He came to our camp, declaring that ShadowClan was too small, because of a greencough epidemic that killed many cats, even Blackstar and Rowanclaw (They were too old anyway). He claimed that he and Bonefur came for ShadowClan's needs. He said ShadowClan could not thrive if it was this small. Mistystar asked, with her soft, croaking voice, what they were asking of her. Scourgestar said that he asked to combine Clans with RiverClan. And he said he had supporters. Three cats padded to him. Rushtail, Hollowflight, and ''Troutstream. ''My own Ma, voting to combine ShadowClan and RiverClan? But it was more than that. I saw the way Ma looked at Scourgestar. How she got only a mouselength away from him rather than a foxlength. ''She was his mate, and he was my father. ''I was excited at first, but I found out he was a monster. That evening, we visited ShadowClan's camp. I expected it to be small and empty, but it seemed to have more cats than I remember. (ShadowClan stole me and my brothers, but my brothers all died.) Then suddenly big, bulky cats guarded all the entrances. Scourgestar cackled. He announced that together, RiverClan and ShadowClan would become Dark River. As soon as he said that, the sun stopped shining. The only light came from Scourgestar's eyes. Then he said, "I am Scourge." Chapter Three- Ironpaw Swiftpaw kicked out his hind legs at me. I nipped one leg, and he shrieked in terror. He turned on me like a lightning bolt. His powerful paws pinned me down, and no matter how much I struggled, I could not get free. A blast of adrenaline soared like an eagle through my veins. My hind legs shot up with all my might, and Swiftpaw flew through the air. Blood roared in my ears. Fortunately, he landed in a pile of used moss. His eyes widened out so much that the whites were showing. "Are you okay?" I asked. He was silent for a moment, then I heard a horrible noise come from him. He was laughing. "Okay? I'm fine! That was amazing!" he purred. "Thanks," I mewed. Suddenly, the adrenaline got way more intense. My fur stood on end. My claws were unseathed. I was in full alert mode. Furzepelt (who was in there since me and Swiftpaw practiced) looked scared. "Ironpaw, are you okay?" I wanted to say no, but the adrenaline was too powerful. "Trespassers," I whispered, not thinking first. Then I yowled. "Trespassers!" I felt the calm atmosphere quickly turn frantic and alarmed. Furzepelt ran out of the training hollow, me and Swiftpaw following close behind. She stopped at Sunstar's den, then glared at both of us. "Just me," she whispered. She ran in. My mother, Heathertail, was yowling from the nursery. "No! No! Let me see her! Now!" I scented Halofrost and Sedgewhisker in the den. I closed my eyes and listened over the racket of panicked cats. It was like I was right there, listening to the conversation. "You can't. The camp is going on complete lockdown, and a patrol including Ironpaw is going to find them. She'll be alright." Halofrost whispered. "No! They'll hurt her! They'll kill her! They'll capture her! All that waiting, years and years for her to be born, just for her to fail!" Heathertail screamed. I creased my ears back. I didn't want to hear anymore. Chapter Five- Moonpaw My paws were glued to the fine grass. A wall of darkness separated our territory from ShadowClan's. I heard whispers. "Ugh, I hate being over here. It smells too much like ThunderClan. Eww." "Would you just shut up?!" "''You shup up!" "Wait, do you hear that?" "I smell it." "ThunderClan." "Well, duh, we're, like, three steps away from their territory." "No, a warrior." I felt the movement stop. I saw two pairs of eyes; one amber, one green. "Come," the green-eyed tom said. His voice was too deep to be a she-cat's. I cautiously placed one white paw in the darkness. It was not something I was expecting. "Trespasser! Alert! Code Red!" the amber-eyed tom yowled. Everything went dark after I was pulled into the no-man's-land. Chapter Six- Eaglepaw I heard a scream. Not just any scream, but her scream. I was suddenly being crushed down by the pain. I couldn't handle being away from her just in a race, but now, it was overwhelming. I didn't care that my brown tuft of fur was in my face; I just wanted her back. Chapter Seven- Lavapaw I cringed as the prisoner was dragged into camp. She was white with gray splotches. Pretty. But I was smart. I could smell another cat on her; a male. She was taken. "No!" She screamed. He claws pierced the ground, leaving scars in the earth. Breezepelt held her scruff, while Pebblefoot dragged her by the tail. They slowly pushed her into the prison. The prison was a deep, underground chasm that made prisoners go crazy. They were used as weapons during the crazy stage. I know this is weird, but I amazingly smart. My brain hold three times as much as a Twoleg's brain, and I used ninety percent instead of a mere ten percent used by the average cat. I was the one who invented the crazy stage. I inferred that, if a cat was held in any dark place underground for a moon, their survival instinct turns on alert mode. It blocks out entirely everything else, resulting in what I call Aliquam Tempus, or the crazy stage. I also infer other things that make me famous in Dark River. When a rat sickness formed in ShadowClan many years ago, I figured out a cure a moon ago. But no one really cares. There are no more rats. They escaped the darkness. Chapter Eight- Ironpaw Furzepelt, Boulderclaw, and Halofrost went on the patrol with me. Wherever we were going. Halofrost was always following me. Whenever she heard a noise, she growled at it and kept me guarded. We went all the way until RiverClan territory. I stopped. Darkness had shrouded their whole territory. I saw two big toms; a black one and a gray one. Their eyes were murderous. The black one had a long scar across his neck. Typical. It was all very fast. Boulderclaw charged at the black one. He was a cheetah attacking his prey. My adrenaline kicked in. I ran ten times faster than a cheetah. I knew what was going to happen. The black one would slash at Boulderclaw's neck, and it would be all over for him. I would be the split second that made the difference. It did happen. The black one's claws shot out from his toes. He reared back his paw, and slashed with the power of a monster. But I was the cheetah. I lept at him. I bit into his paw so hard that I heard a crunch. He yowled. He dragged me into the darkness. I panicked and ran to the light. I was back in my territory. Back to normal. But my eyes were clouded. Chapter Nine- Moonpaw The musky scent of dirt filled my nostrils. I was up to my stomach in dirt. I was tired of this. I was here for only an hour and I can't stand it. I can't stand the hysterical laughter of the other nutty prisoners. I can't stand the dirt that clouds my mind. I can't stand to be without Eaglepaw. He was my missing piece. Chapter Ten- Lavapaw It was nighttime. It always felt that way, but I could tell because of all the annoying crickets buzzing in ThunderClan territory. I slunk out of the apprentices den. No one would notice. I have the den all to myself. I headed for the hole. The hole led to the chasm. And the chasm led to her. As soon as I crawled in, my nose wrinkled of the scent of dirt. I squeezed through the tiny tunnel. I heard laughter. Great. The crazies. I saw the white apprentice. Her eyes were a dull blue in the chasm. I knew what I had to do. I unsheathed my claws, and I was prepared to dig her out. My paws were covered with dirt. I was better than her, at least. She was caked with mud. She was very thankful. "Hey, I have a name, you know." she whispers as we crawl through the tunnel. "What?" I asked. "Well, you always call me 'she' in your thoughts. I've been listening to your perfect mind ever since I got here." "Whoa, you can read minds?" "Yeah." "That's better than my mind. If you are the only mind reader, you can retain information better than anyone else in the world!" "Uh, stop being nerdy. I can only do it when I want to. It's not open so I can hear everything." "Oh," "Yeah. My name is Moonpaw." We walked through the forest, trying to find the way to freedom. I saw dim light. Me and Moonpaw ran to it. It was ThunderClan. We walked through the forest. Then a ginger tom stopped us. "What are you doing with my daughter?" Chapter Eleven- Ironpaw "What's wrong with my eyes?!" I screamed. Kestrelflight looked once more. Then his eyes widened. "They're clouded." "I know, hotshot!" "No, I mean I can see your eyes. They are clouded." I froze. "I won't see clearly ever again?" "Not until you are in StarClan's hunting grounds, that is." Sunstar walked in the den, Boulderclaw following. "That's it!" she yowled. "We are declaring war on RiverClan!" "No," Boulderclaw croaked, his throat stiched up with herbs. "It was ShadowClan, too. They combined." Chapter Twelve- Moonpaw "What are you doing with my daughter?" Lionstar asked Lavapaw. I knew his name. "Daddy," I complained. "He saved me from ShadowClan." "Dark River," Lavapaw corrected. "RiverClan combined with ShadowClan." "Well, whoever they are, ThunderClan is declaring war on them." "Daddy!" I yelled. "He saved me!" "Well they took you! That is it! No more border patrols for a moon!" "That won't matter, because there is a war going on." "Stop back-talking me!" "You won't let me fight, will you?" I yelled. "You just can't stand the thought of me going out of the nursery, can you? Do you want me to be Daddy's little kit forever? Just let me grow up!" Lionstar stood there, his face shocked. "Moonpaw, I had no-" "Shut it!" I screeched. "Just go declare war already!" Chapter Thirteen Part One- Lionstar I watched the little black apprentice run away to his territory. He had said ShadowClan and RiverClan were conjoined now; there was no way to fight a mega-clan. There had to be another way. I remembered the faint memories of my first apprentice, Dovewing. She was the same way as Moonpaw. Stubborn, dramatic, lonesome; but she became one of my closest friends. So, back to the war. I could be the only one standing, because it was impossible for me to die in battle. I can't take on a mega-clan anyway. Then I had an idea. We would fight fire with fire. *** I stood on the border of WindClan and ThunderClan. It's the only choice, ''I thought. I ran into the open space. Wind tugged at my fur. I kept going. And going. And going. And going. And going. I was exhausted. I looked at the camp. I was ready. Part Two- Sunstar I sat angrily in my nest. Stupid mega-clan! They crippled our prophecy victim. She could barely see now. Iron and Lava flow together as the mighty Eagle soars over the hurt Moon. The Shine can hurt you but keep you safe. That stupid prophecy caused all this mess! I wanted to declare war on this clan, but they were too big. The next thing I know, Lionstar is standing at the entrance to my den. "What are you doing?" I whisper. "We need to talk," he says. "ShadowClan and RiverClan formed to become Dark River. They captured my daughter. She escaped. But we can't let this happen again. Soon they'll be stealing all our prey, demanding for territory, and we won't be able to fight it unless we gang up on them." "I agree," I said. "Good," Lionstar beamed. "Training begins at sun high. We ambush Dark River in a week." Chapter Fourteen- Lavapaw "So," Scourgestar yowled. "My son snuck out last night and freed our prisoner. That was our only chance to get more territory." Yowls of ashame echoed through the camp. "We will punish him by killing his mentor while standing right here." My eyes widened. ''Minnowtail! ''I thought. I saw Bonefur and Breezepelt with a chain in their teeth. The chain was connected to a metal collar. Each metal collar held a cat. Grasspelt and Beetlewhisker stared with their crazed eyes. They killed her slowly. Chapter Fifteen- Ironpaw I stood in the trees, feeling uncomfortable. Furzepelt stood beside me. Her nervousness was spiked into the air, making it obvious that she didn't want to be there. Lionstar was perched on a tree branch. He was waiting for Sunstar. Today was the first day of training. Sunstar padded into ThunderClan territory like a cat would walk into a badger set. Behind her was all the other warriors and apprentices able to fight from our two clans. "You showed my clan your territory," Lionstar said. "Now I show yours mine." "Oooohs" and "aaahs" came from WindClan. They quickly quieted down. "You will learn techniques of how to fight in the trees," Lionstar began. He turned to ThunderClan. "These will be new to you as well." *** "Ironpaw," Lionstar called. I gulped. We had to do a battle move that involved hind legs only on a low tree branch, a cat below pretending to fight you. You had to take a swing at their face, then jump to another tree branch. Sounds easy? Nope. You have to use your hind legs to jump, no forelegs. I jumped onto the lowest branch. "Moonpaw," Lionstar called. She was going to be my fighter. I gasped when I saw her. She was so pretty! She looked at me and mouthed, "You're pretty too." I was even more alarmed at this. My adrenaline kicked in. I felt as powerful as an ox. Moonpaw was only a blur. My eyes felt worse now because all my energy was going to my muscles. I battered her with my paw and leaped to the highest branch of the nearby tree. I jumped down. Everyone was cheering. Three Moons later.... Chapter Sixteen Moonpaw Dead. Dead. Dead is the only word that will describe what the war will do to our clans. Dead. Ironpaw I can't do this. I have to go on the patrol to declare war. Lavapaw ThunderClan and WindClan come together as StormClan to declare war on Dark River. Bad decision. Eaglepaw I don't care how bloodthirsty Dark River is. I will protect my Moonpaw with all my heart. Part Two: The War Chapter Seventeen- Third Person "Ironflame!" "Moonheart!" "Eagletalon!" "Ashfire!" "Shinepelt!" "Lynxpaw!" "Ghostpaw!" "Summerpaw!" "Rustpaw!" The names of the new warriors and apprentices were chanted as the sun creeped up the sky. Moon felt a tingle in her paws as her little brothers names were called. She was not just a warrior, but a mentor. Ironflame's little sister, Summerpaw, was her apprentice. Ironflame was not excited to be a warrior. She looked down at the small tom that was her apprentice. Lynxpaw was Moonlight's little brother. He would not participate in the first days of the war. Chapter Eighteen- Ironflame I stood beside Furzepelt and Sunstar, glaring at Scourgestar. We were standing on the border of our clan's territory. "StormClan," Scourgestar said. "We can do this, or we can save warrior blood from being spilled." "Nice try!" I spat. "How about I jab sticks into my eyes? Or give up WindClan territory?" StormClan cats snickered at my remark. "Fine," Scourgestar growled. "Attack!" A wave of cats entered our group. "RiverClan territory!" Sunstar yowled. "Push them back there!" Breezepelt pinned me down. "You're my little daughter, eh?" he laughed hysterically. The adrenaline came quick. My eyes weren't interfering. In fact, I couldn't see at all, but I could feel my paws dancing the art of battle. Breezepelt was screeching in pain. I was almost done with him when someone carried me away. Chapter Nineteen- Moonheart I ran at fierce cats, trying to push them back into RiverClan territory. I focused into different cats' minds. It all was the same. ''They have no chance, ''most of them said. ''Don't get so sure of yourself, ''I thought over and over, so when they read my mind they would be infuriated. My plan was going smoothly until a mysterious force blurred my vision and whisked me away. Chapter Twenty- Eagletalon I blinked. In that split second, Moonheart had vanished. Had someone killed her? Taken her? I can't stand thinking about that. When I was done thinking, I was gone. Chapter Twenty-One: Lavafur I had already inferred what had happened to Moonheart. I was watching. A cat with a shiny pelt and the speed of the highest winds pulled her away into a hole in a tree. The hole was caused by weathering. What am I saying? I am a nerd. I say things people don't care about. If I keep it up, nobody will ever want to talk to me. I was taken like Moonheart. Chapter Twenty-Two: Shinepelt I looked at the four cats standing in my hollow. Even deep within the musky tree, I could smell the fear on each of them. Their eyes were unfocused and crossed. I expect that I took them too fast into the hollow, and that their minds were still trying to interpret the moment. The first one to snap out of it was the black tom. His scent was mixed with fish and pine. He must be from Dark River. He sat there, obediently, until the white one snapped out of it. She was ThunderClan. Her blue eyes were still unfocused, but she breathed normally, and seemed to focus on the brown tom until he was awake. The gray one was the last to wake. Her mysterious blue-green eyes seemed to hold the key to the success of victory for StormClan. Or not. I've been wrong before. But never again. She was also the first to speak. "Where are we?" she asked. Her voice carried a lot of confidence. "We are in the Tunnel of the Stars." I responded, trying to match the bravery. "Wait, are you Shinepelt?" "Of course." "You should be fighting!" "I shall never fight, as I have no claws." Ironflame grew to be my favorite. Her face was drained of all confidence and was replaced with sorrow. Her power came in handy in these situations. In this type, her natural instincts held off and let her girl side take over by either acting bratty, sympathetic, or acting like a Twoleg girl her age. If she was threatened, her girl side held off and her natural instincts took over her body by sending a blast of adrenaline all throughout her bloodstream. The black one, Lavafur, had a power that enhanced his mind and other senses with the extra 90% of power that 99.9% of other cats don't use. He was very annoying, though. He kept talking about the thousands of years of the possible ice wedging it took to create this hole. After about an hour, I told him it was there since the beginning of time. He seemed to shut up then. Moonheart could read all the thoughts you just read. When I thought that Lavafur was annoying, she said, "Tell me about it." You go girl! Eagletalon showed no signs whatsoever. He can't run fast, he can't lift up boulders, nothing of the sort. He's the late bloomer. I think it was time I tell them everything I possibly can about their strange abnormalities. Moonheart read this and she told everyone to listen. "Long ago, back when Tigerstar was still in the forest, BloodClan came to his aid to kill Firestar. Apparently, Tigerstar thought he could control the clan like a couple of kits. Scourge felt offended and killed him. A few days later, he stripped Firestar of his first life and shortly after Firestar killed him. "A long time after, Leafpool got hold of a message from StarClan. ''Beware of the scourge that will burn your home. With iron and lava flowing together, there is no way the scourge can stop the eagle covering the moon. ''She lived in worry for many, many moons, but nothing came. She ignored the message and threw it in the wastebasket in her brain. "When Firestar finally died, he of course went to StarClan. But an unwelcome guest came with him. A fragment of a soul came with Firestar's. "How did this happen? Scourge held so much pride and greed when he thought he killed Firestar that his brain had no more room for the sorrow and love left. So that fragment of his soul left his body and came to the next best thing; Firestar. It was helpful to Firestar until he died. By then the only piece left of Scourge had absorbed all the hatred in Firestar's body, then acted like a parasite to his bodyless soul. Firestar was pushed out, and Scourge re-lived in that soul. "So when he reached StarClan, he offered to go a re-live as a kit in the present. Of course, he looked like Firestar, so nobody would suspect that the evilest killer of them all took his place of the legendary flame-colored leader. "When you leave StarClan to re-live as another cat, you are supposed to forget everything about your old life until you die yet again. But Scourge, having the most evil a cat could ever have in his body, did not forget everything. He remembered half of what he was not supposed to have. "And he lived his life in ShadowClan, the clan Firestar was assigned to live in after he offered to live again. He grew quickly and soon he murdered Blackstar and Rowanclaw just when he was an apprentice. He killed half the clan in one night as well. So he declared himself leader and brought Bone back to life so it would be somewhat the same in his plan to take over the forest. "He annexed RiverClan, as most of you know, and wanted to slowly take over WindClan then win a quick battle against ThunderClan to make the first megaclan." Moonheart, Ironflame, and Eagletalon all had wide eyes. Lavafur was the only one who could retain every bit of this information. He tried to state his other theories until Eagletalon gave him the eye. He stopped immidiatly. Chapter Twenty-Three: Eagletalon "So," I began. "The other three cats in the prophecy have powers, but I don't?" "Sometimes there are exceptions." Shinepelt responded. "Sometimes one of the prophecy members doesn't have a power. Or they can only use it at certain times." The flames of anger inside my body roared. Why did I not have a power? Or was I just not ready? I could not protect Moonheart without ''something. "You all need to go and fight." Shinepelt said, pointing her tail at the hole. Ironflame leaped up into the fighting. I could hear hisses from above, probably from her killing spree mode. Lavafur hopped up the sides of the hole, slowly making it up to the exit. Moonheart bunched up her legs. "No!" I yelled, the echoes bouncing off the walls. "Me first." I jumped to the top, not quite making it. I saw how far of a fall that would be if I fell. I manouvered my paws to find anything that would pull me up. I finally caught hold of a tree root and heaved myself into the battle. "Moonheart!" I called. She appeared right behind me. I licked her cheek and ran off to fight. A whisper in the back of my head said, "Your one true power will be to die for your love." Grasspelt charged toward me. I slid under him and slashed his underbelly. Blood gushed out all over me. He yowled and ran away. "Coward," I snickered. Scorchfur attacked me from behind. He was on my back, claws digging into my spine. Ugh, this is going to hurt. ''I climbed up a tree. He was still hanging on. "Alright, buddy," I threatened. "Get off or you're going to be seriously hurt!" "No!" He hissed. "Dark River never quits!" "Get ready," I growled. I hopped off the tree. I flipped myself over, to where I would land on my back. Scorchfur still held on. I closed my eyes and waited. I heard a thousand bones crunching beneath me after impact. His claws weren't hanging on anymore. I got up and saw the dead body of my old friend. Chapter Twenty-Four: Moonheart I was bewildered to find out that I was the only mind reader in this world. I thoguht everyone could read each other's minds. But then again, why would it be that simple? No time for this. I must fight. Rushtail and I soon engaged in battle. The sparkle of friendship had disappeared from her eyes. I assume it was no longer in mine, either. "Rushtail, please!" I screamed. "We don't have to do this!" "If there was anything Scourgestar taught me," she growled. "Is to never listen to any other clan!" She pinned me down. My only RiverClan friend, going to kill me. I hope she comes to StarClan and realizes what terrible deed she had done. Chapter Twenty-Five: Eagletalon I was about to kill the attacker when I realized who the other one had. Moonheart. It was slow at first. My paws loping across the clearing, The blow coming fast. Until my one hope came. ''Mine. I grew in size, muscles rippling. My muscles didn't just grow. My claws and teeth were the size of rocks. I knew what this meant. "Your power will be to die for your love," she said. The day is now. I will not fail. Chapter Twenty-Six: Moonheart A large lion without a mane sped towards me. No. A lion could not have such elegance in each leap. It was Eagletalon. More Dark River cats ran towards it, including Rushtail. "No!" I yelled. "He'll kill you!" Eagletalon looked at me. "But that's what I want to do." The whole Dark River, excluding Scourgestar and Bonefur, attacked Eagletalon. His massive paws knocked away each one of them. His giant claws slashed the toms. He cared about the females; he only batted them away. I blacked out when Scourgestar and Bonefur went for the neck.